Godfather
by numbah 1 HPFan
Summary: Godfather: an appointed guardian, friend, comforter, protector. Someone every child should be allowed to create a safe, loving friendship with. Three-shot off of my AU series. Mainly focused on Remus, Sirius and James. R&R! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Remus and Alianna

**I disclaim that which is recognized as being famous from JK Rowling.**

**This story is branching out of my AU series and will just be 3 chapters long (one per male Marauder). This chapter is told in Remus' POV. **

**If you're unfamiliar with my AU here's a little background: Keena Potter (James' adopted sister-1 month younger) is pregnant and engaged to Sirius (who was proven innocent at the end of canon 3****rd**** year) and the two of them adopted an orphaned Ravenclaw first year (Alianna) near the end of canon 4****th**** year. Kailey Snape is Harry's best friend and James and Lily are both alive. This scene takes place in Potter Mansion the summer after canon 4th year. ENJOY! **

"Padfoot, can I talk to you a moment?" I murmured as my goddaughter dragged Tonks up the stairs to show off her new bedroom.

"Yeah, Moony, sure," he replied, placing a swift kiss on his fiancé's cheek before standing to follow me into Potter Mansion's expansive library. I figured it was the one room where Harry and Kailey wouldn't catch us and I wasn't even sure how often James had even entered this room growing up. "You alright, mate?"

"Huh…? Oh, yeah," I answered slowly, catching the smell of disbelief from Sirius and shaking my head. "Just confused."

He quirked an eyebrow and gave me a look that I took to say go-on.

"Don't think I'm not grateful," I began hastily. "But I just can't figure out why you made me Alianna's godfather."

The other eyebrow rose to meet the first.

"Is that what's had you so worked up since she came home?" he asked point blank.

"I haven't been worked up," I disagreed.

He snorted, shaking his head.

"Moony, we made you her godfather because we trust you. You took care of Keena when she couldn't do it herself; we know you won't walk out on our daughter," he answered, leaning back against one of the desks that littered the room.

Something wriggled inside of me for a moment and it must have showed on my face.

"What else is it?" Sirius asked, frowning as he watched my expression.

"If you could trust Prongs that way, would you have picked him?"

"We do trust Prongs that way."

"Then why did you choose me?" I insisted. "Was it just because Alianna couldn't know about James and Lily when you made the adoption official? Or did Keena just come up with it out of the blue?"

"Remus, calm down," Sirius said, standing up straight and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Look, Keena didn't come up with it randomly; I am capable of serious discussions, you know. We decided that you would be a better personality match with her. You're both smart and very loyal to your families."

"James is smart," I muttered, matching Sirius in switching back to normal names. "And if he isn't loyal then I don't think I know the meaning of the word."

"Why do you keep arguing me on this?" he groaned. "D'you _want_ me to just switch her godfather to James?"

"No, I'm grateful! Truly, I think she's a wonderful little girl," I defended, trying in vain to think of how to best explain what I was feeling. "It's just…Sirius, don't you see how odd it is for me to accept this? They made you godfather and I was positive that you and Keena would've made them godparents if things had…worked out. Not only that, but you made Tonks her godmother. Neither of you are even that close to Tonks, where did _that_ come from?"

Sirius frowned again, letting his hand slide off of my shoulder. I shook my head and yanked the chair out from the desk and sat down in it, ignoring the dust mites that filled my nostrils. No matter what the house elves did, I could always smell the dust. The only other scent competing with it at the moment was Sirius' confusion.

"You're not upset that you're her godfather, you're upset that Tonks is her godmother?"

I huffed.

"Upset is not the word I would use."

"Confused then," he conceded. "Keena said that she would trust Tonks with her life. As far as I know, the two aren't even amazing friends or anything," he paused and gave me a questioning look.

"They worked together for a little while," I replied to his look. "But that was it."

"Well, she is my cousin's daughter, so it isn't completely random. If she wasn't somehow related, I think I would've pushed more for Lily to be her godmother," he shrugged off-handedly. "But Alianna seems to love Tonks; you saw her reaction when she got here. As long as she's happy, I'm not overly concerned with who has the title. Just as long as that person is willing to do anything that I would do for my daughter. And Moony, unless I'm horribly mistaken, I think you are that person."

The tension in my chest eased somewhat as I inhaled the smell of pure honesty. Perhaps I was being slightly ridiculous in my concern.

"Moony, can I ask you something?" he said quietly after a few moments of silence. I nodded, my face transforming into a frown as I saw his discomfort. "I know you've told me that Keena had…problems. After everything happened. And the _Prophet_ was more than happy to point out some of them, but I was just wondering to what extent…how bad was she?"

"Padfoot…" I trailed off softly.

His expression was pure pain.

"Moony, I need to know. She's pregnant and Voldemort is back," he paused. "Merlin knows what's going to happen this time around. I need to be able to…to know what to do if something bad happens."

"She was…she got better once Dumbledore threatened to take her access to Harry away. I dunno, Padfoot, she needs someone to take care of and she'll be…better."

"How often was she…bad?"

I cleared my throat and looked away from him.

"Almost every night," I murmured. "Look, Sirius, I don't think she's going to go back there. She's got you back and that was probably the worst of it."

"Merlin," he moaned, dropping his face into his hands. "So if I hadn't been in Azkaban…"

"No, Sirius, don't even go there," I growled, yanking his hands away from his face. "You can't do that because then she'll feel guilty over it and then where are we left?"

"With you cleaning up after us like you did all seven years at school?"

My lips quirked.

"Exactly, except this time you've got an almost teenage daughter and a baby on the way. I am not changing diapers because you two are feeling too guilty about things that you can't change."

"You're right," he agreed quietly, looking up at me with his silver gray eyes. "I never understand how, but you're almost always right."

I shrugged.

"Except for when I'm wrong," I replied before sighing.

"Hence 'almost' always. But I hope you're done being confused over Alianna's godparents."

"Even if I wasn't, I like to think I'm mature enough to be able to be who she needs me to be," I answered.

* * *

><p>I looked up at a light tap on my knee to see Alianna staring at me with wide blue-gray eyes. At the nervous look on her face, I closed my book and placed it on the coffee table. She sighed and sat down in the chair beside me.<p>

"Something troubling you?" I asked lightly as she sank down as far as she possibly could into her chair.

"Why can't I tell Harry anything?" she grumbled, folding her arms.

"You can't tell him anything?" I replied mildly, mentally chuckling over her reaction.

"Ugh…Re-mus!" she complained dragging out of my name and sitting up. "Why can't I tell him about headquarters? Kailey already knows and Ron and Hermione already know and I even know! How come mum and dad say I can't tell?"

I frowned at her and she groaned, leaning back into the chair again.

"Alianna, I don't know if this is something I should tell you," I stated softly. Her face fell, but it was quickly followed by my resolve. "Alright, listen closely," I said.

She sat straight up and leaned closer, my lips quirked at her actions.

"Your mum and dad say that you cannot tell because that is what Professor Dumbledore has requested at the beginning of the summer," I said seriously.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Is that it?" she sounded disappointed.

I shrugged, leaning back in my own chair.

"It's all that Dumbledore would tell us."

"Well that doesn't sound fair! Shouldn't you at least ask why? Secrets shouldn't be kept unless they really have to be."

"But how do we know which secrets those are?" I asked, feeling my teaching voice reasserting itself. "Dumbledore likely feels that this is one of them in any case."

She considered this, squirming in her seat so that she was comfortable. I watched her cautiously, wondering how she would react.

"I guess I never really thought of that; I've never had a secret that needs to be kept. Not a really important one. Well, I guess I have to keep Auntie Lily and Uncle James a secret, but no one would ask me about them anyway. Have you ever had a secret like that?" she asked turning her gaze on me again.

_Damn…we haven't told her this yet, have we? Brilliant, now she won't even want me as a godfather, never mind whether or not Keena and Sirius want me to be…_

"I can't say that I have," I answered after clearing my throat.

She tilted her head to the side, pulling her deep, dark brown hair over her shoulder and running her hand through it, biting her lip as she did so. She looked so much like Keena, but with Sirius' eyes…

_Aw, what the hell? She'll have to learn about it eventually, won't she…?_

"Well, except for one secret," I admitted softly. I inhaled for a moment and could only catch the smell of pure curiosity from the eleven year old beside me. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes please," she smiled brightly, leaning towards me again. "And then maybe I can tell you one in return; it'll be like sharing."

My lips twitched again, but at the thought I was about to tell her what sort of monster I was, I controlled myself.

"Alright, well," I paused to clear my throat once more. "When I was very small, I was bitten by a werewolf."

Her eyes widened predictably, but she didn't lean away from me. She didn't even flinch.

"So is that why you had to go away last week?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I go to one of the other houses to transform in the dungeon," I replied with a nod, waiting for her to begin her real reaction.

"But then how come dad and Uncle James went with you?" she asked curiously instead of fearfully. "I thought when a person transformed into a werewolf that they had no control."

"Lily makes a potion for me every month, though sometimes Professor Snape does if she doesn't have time. It's called the Wolfsbane Potion; it allows me keep my mind while I'm the wolf. But your dad and James are animagi which keeps them safe from the werewolf venom."

"Dad's an animagus? Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because if your dad is an animagus and James is too, who else would you expect to be one?"

"Well, mum and Auntie Lily and you of course," she replied matter-of-factly before blinking as she thought over her words. "But you're not one, are you?"

"No, I never went through with it; I'm not even sure a werewolf could," I answered with a slight shrug.

"And then I would have wanted to know why you weren't and mum and dad wouldn't want to tell your secret without your permission," she concluded with a nod. "But why didn't you tell me sooner?"

I took a deep breath and shook my head.

"It's not something little girls like to find out about their godfathers."

"Uncle Remus, that's stupid."

I looked up at her and quirked an eyebrow. I could count on one hand the number of times she called me 'Uncle'. I suppose it was her version of a full name for me.

Her eyes were narrowed and she had sat up straight, placing her hands on her hips.

"Do you really think that turning into a big old puppy once a month was going to make me like you any less? You're still my godfather. Besides, there are plenty of people who don't turn into wolves once a month who are much scarier than you," she stated with a nod.

"So it really doesn't frighten you?" I asked after a moment of silence during which she gave me a look I was positive she had picked up from being around Keena so much for the past few months.

"It really doesn't."

The little bit of tension that had remained after my talk with Sirius drained away. She didn't care that I was a werewolf and that was all that mattered.

**So ends Remus and Alianna's scene. Yay! Next up will be James with Aradia and the third will be Sirius with Harry. Here's to your enjoyment!**

**:-D**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: James and Aradia

**Enjoy! (Disclaimed again) Here is James' POV. Happy holidays!**

Pacing seemed like a good pass time. It didn't really require any thought process, so long as I turned to go the other way before I hit the chairs I was all set. Occasionally I had to step wide to avoid colliding with Harry, but more often than not I was allowed to keep myself moving in a (more or less) straight line. Despite not having raised him myself, he seemed to have inherited all of my habits (I caught him ruffling his hair out of the corner of my eye as I did the same).

I glanced over to where Tonks, Kailey and Alianna were sitting. They were the only three in the room not behaving nervous in the least. Remus was checking his watch every ten seconds, which was actually in time with my pacing. But those three girls were just chatting about what the baby would look like. Alianna was bouncing in her seat between her godparents. She looked more like Keena than like Sirius. Maybe Aradia would look more like Sirius than like Keena.

My eyes drifted briefly to Kailey as I narrowly avoided colliding with my son for the umpteenth time. Her eyes slid towards Harry again and I mentally chuckled. Who would've guessed a Potter and a Snape would actually like each other as more than friends? Irony did exist in the world. Now if we could just get them to admit to it.

I glanced up at the sound of footsteps in the hall way and paused my pacing when the doors opened to reveal my wife and her Healer friend. Both were grinning widely.

"It's a healthy baby girl," Lily stated, coming forward to embrace me briefly before taking our son into her arms.

* * *

><p>"James could you take her for a moment?" Keena asked, holding her three day old daughter, who happened to be screaming at the top of her little lungs, out to me. "I need to go and give that portrait a few choice words," she added venomously, her chocolate eyes gleaming as they flickered towards the hallway where the picture of Sirius' mum was currently wrecking havoc.<p>

"Are you sure about that?" I asked warily. The last time I had held a baby had been fourteen years ago. The last time it had been a screaming baby? Never.

"Yes, she's your goddaughter, are you afraid of her?" Keena's anger subsided slightly as she laughed at me. Her laughter seemed to calm Aradia slightly. That or I was slowly going deaf.

Rolling my eyes at my little sister, I took my niece from her arms. Well, even if Keena laughing had made the baby happier, it didn't matter; she screamed louder than ever at being handed to me.

"Just bounce her up and down a few times," Keena said as she moved towards the kitchen door. "And put up a silencing spell."

She shut the door behind her and I took her advice, cutting off the shrieking from the portrait. With only half the noise being made, Aradia's screaming didn't come off as nearly so daunting.

I sat down with her, feeling some of my dusty old parenting instincts coming back slowly as I began to rock her. I thought for a moment that just maybe she was only crying so loudly because she needed a diaper change. I checked and was slightly disappointed that this was not the case; diapers were easy to handle, just change the baby and the problem is over.

"But your problem is different right now, isn't it?" I murmured aloud to the baby in my arms. "You're frightened, aren't you?"

I lifted a finger and let one of her flailing fists catch hold of it. It made me chuckle when she squeezed hard.

"You've got quite the grip there, eh? Well, there's no telling which side of the family you got that from. Your parents are both strong," I told her like it was the biggest secret in the world, feeling pleased when she began to quiet her screaming so that she could hear the sound of my voice. "Sometimes I think they had more of a hand in raising Harry than I did. No, that's not right, is it? I _know_ that they had more, even if Sirius didn't meet him until the same night that we did. I guess that's where having a job at Hogwarts is more beneficial; he gets to see Harry a whole lot more than I do."

Her screams were turning into sniffles now as I continued to rock her back and forth.

"I didn't get to be there for when Harry was frightened by loud noises or the dark," I told her sadly, confiding in her the words I had never felt right telling to Lily when she already missed her baby boy so much. "But I will be there for you, little one. You're my second chance."

Her crying had stopped now and she stared up at me with big, gray eyes. I had been right; her features were by far more like Padfoot than like my sister.

"I'll get to spoil you rotten too," I grinned. "I'll get you your first broom, but don't tell that to your mum or Auntie Lily. And Harry will be done with Hogwarts long before you go, so we'll make sure you get your hands on the map. Even if you don't, I'll tell you about all of those secret passageways. When you're a toddler, we'll get into the sweets whenever we can and when you start school I'll teach you every jinx I know to keep pesky boys away."

I paused as she blinked at the last sentence, almost as if she had understood something in there. But her blink was followed by a yawn, so I lowered my voice as I continued.

"Even when you're a teenager and don't want them chased away, I'll make sure to prank them somehow; you're dad'll help me with that. And—and…"

I sighed, remembering how Sirius had made similar plans with Harry when he had been a baby. We were going to raise him to be a Marauder. I was going to teach him how to fly. I was going to give him girl advice that would've made Lily roll her eyes at me before taking him aside to negate every word I'd said. I was going to be there for him at all times. I wasn't going to let anything stop me from fighting for my son.

Instead, I'd fought from behind the scenes. Destroying horcruxes was all well and good, but it had left me separated from my son. Merlin forbid something happening to him while Lily and I worked on hunting them down; he had been safer away from us. The dementor attack only proved that in my opinion; what dark, magical creature had ever attacked him during the summers before he left Privet Drive?

"And in case your dad can't be there for you, I will. The way your mum was there for my son, I will be there for her daughters if the need ever arises," I paused again and sighed. "I know you're too little to understand all of this, but that's really for the best. If I have anything to say about it, you won't be able to remember this war at all. And that is a promise."

Her grip on my finger slackened as she closed her eyes, yawning once more. Then she was asleep in my arms.

I glanced up at the sound of the door opening to see Keena standing there with tears in her eyes. Frowning, I stood up but before I could walk over to her, she had shut the door again and flicked her wand to the door.

"You're silencing charm was only one way," she explained, coming forward and embracing me tightly. The baby woke for a moment but registered somehow that it was only her mother and drifted off to sleep again. "I've been standing there for the past few minutes."

I felt my face heat up slightly in embarrassment.

"Didn't you hear the part about this being a secret between me and my goddaughter?" I asked lightly as she pulled away.

She looked at me for a moment then shook her head.

"I heard from chasing boys away onward," she replied with a shrug. "And that's hardly a secret, it's kind of expected."

She gazed down at her daughter with the same adoration I had seen Lily gaze down on Harry with. Even now, when he isn't looking, Lily sometimes will still look at him that way. Keena doesn't bother to make sure Alianna isn't looking, at least not yet.

"I meant every word," I told her softly, holding the sleeping baby out to her mother. "But don't you dare let Sirius make me have to follow through."

She let out a slight laugh before she caught the serious expression on my face.

"You know I won't just let anything happen to him and I don't expect you or Remus or Lily to sit on the sidelines either. We're all in this together and that's the way I expect us to come out of it," she stated firmly, though she kept her voice soft as she cradled her daughter. "After all, we all have our godchildren to consider in addition to our own kids."

"Yeah about that," I muttered frowning at the sudden thought. "Who is Moony gonna make godfather and godmother when he finally gets his act together and realizes Tonks has a very serious crush on him?"

She blinked at me before shrugging.

"I think you're a little bit ahead of where Moony is just now. Why don't you wait for them to start going out before you and Sirius start competing?"

**That's the end of this chapter. I realize it's much shorter, but seeing as Aradia can't exactly talk back yet…oh well! I hope you enjoyed it regardless! Next will be the final chapter focusing on Sirius and Harry's relationship. **

**:-D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Sirius and Harry

**I disclaim it just as usual. **

**Okay, so this chapter is going to take place during Harry's fifth year (the other two were both in the summer before it). The first part is during the first week of school, the second part is a day after Mr. Weasley is attacked by the snake. Remember, Sirius works at Hogwarts as an Auror while Keena is the school's tutor/guidance counselor. The golden trio is a quartet with Kailey Snape being the fourth member. Hope you like it!**

The door to my office slammed open and shut so rapidly that I only had time for one jump. I could hear Mad-Eye's voice shouting "Constant vigilance!" in my head, but I ignored it in favor of watching Harry as he paced the length of my office, turning sharply to avoid hitting the walls.

"Knut for your thoughts?" I asked lightly, hoping he'd stop his pacing soon; it was making me slightly dizzy watching him.

"Dunno if it's worth it," he answered sullenly, finally taking a seat in front of me. "I just had my first DADA class with Umbridge."

"Please tell me you don't have detention?" I asked seriously.

He smirked slightly and I felt better about the situation already.

"No, but I think my shin might be bruised," he answered, shaking his head.

"Kailey or Hermione?"

"Kailey," he said like it should have been obvious. "Hermione doesn't know the future, remember?"

"I don't think she'd have to know it to have the common sense to stop you from running your mouth off at a fat pink toad of a woman," I shrugged. For some reason, he laughed a bit louder than he should have. "It wasn't that funny."

"It isn't Umbridge I'm mad at," he said once he'd calmed himself down a bit. "Keena observed our class after she finished taking the test for Umbridge, you know, the one that would determine whether or not she'd be allowed to tutor in Defense?"

"So you're mad at Keena?" I asked slowly. "Could you please not tell her about the toad thing, then?"

He smiled again, but it was more forced this time.

"Alright, we're going about this the wrong way," I stated, leaning back in my chair. "D'you want to explain what happened from the beginning?"

He sighed heavily but launched into the story nonetheless.

"Umbridge was saying all this stuff about how we shouldn't be allowed to use magic in the classroom and that we wouldn't be learning any in DADA this year."

"You're not learning spells? What about the OWLs?" I asked, interrupting with a frown.

"That's what everyone else said," he nodded. "But Keena tried to explain that the classroom was the only place where we should be allowed. Umbridge called it old-fashioned and Keena didn't even try to stick up for herself! And then I brought up how we won't be able to defend ourselves against Death Eaters. Umbridge asked Keena what she thought. Keena said that a Death Eater who attacked was likely under the impression that Voldemort gave the orders but then Umbridge stepped in and said that since all the Death Eaters had been sent to Azkaban it didn't matter. Keena just let that go too!"

I took advantage as he paused for breath.

"Harry, you do realize that just because Keena doesn't argue with Umbridge that doesn't mean or even imply that she agrees, right?" I suggested, leaning forward. "She's just trying to keep her job."

He huffed angrily, his eyes glinting in a way that reminded me that his mother was a redhead.

"It didn't end there, though, Sirius. Umbridge called Cedric's death an accident!"

I closed my eyes. Though neither of them had ever come to see any of us, we had all heard him and Kailey going to either her room or his after a nightmare. Occasionally, Moony had heard whimpering from Harry's room and we had all heard Kailey's screams. I have no doubt that Cedric's death had been featured no less than often.

"Sirius, Keena wouldn't even defend that. How could she just let that go?" he implored.

I opened my eyes and his expression damn near broke me.

"Harry, listen to me," I said standing up and walking around my desk so that I could place my hands on his shoulders. "I promise you that no matter what happens we are on your side in this. You're our god_son_. I know that it sounds like she wasn't protecting you, but I sincerely hope you realize that she desperately wanted to; you know she loves you."

"But then why did she lie like that?" he asked, shaking his head. "We're always lying somehow, always keeping some secret from everyone around us. It isn't right! It's an insult to Cedric's memory."

"I don't think you realize just how right you are about that, Harry," I told him, nodding. "It's not right that we've been forced into this, but what do you think Umbridge would do if Keena or I or anybody else continued pointing out Cedric's death was murder?"

He shifted uncomfortably, looking away from me.

"She'd fire you, wouldn't she?" he asked in a defeated tone. "Or get you fired somehow."

"Yes, she probably would. And I'm sure you and Alianna would be just fine without me and Keena here, but do you really want to take that chance?" I asked, bringing up my daughter because I knew he had a soft spot for her.

"Not with the sorts of dreams Ali has," he replied after a moment, shaking his head. "Kailey could probably handle them but…" he paused and shook his head before sighing. "I'm sorry I got angry."

"I'm sorry that you think you need to apologize," I answered, giving him a pat on the back before returning to my seat. I looked up at him to see that he was confused. "I don't know what kind of human being wouldn't get angry about something like this, especially not a young man as loyal as you."

He gave me a weak smile as I grinned at him, giving him a wink.

"Now, d'you need anything else? Girl advice perhaps?"

To my delight, he flushed and glanced at the door before he asked me; "How long do you have?"

* * *

><p>I rapped on the attic door and was unsurprised that I received no invitation to enter. Of course, that didn't stop me from opening the door anyway; it's my house after all. The sight I met would've made me laugh if he wasn't so angry looking.<p>

Harry was pacing back and forth, glaring at the ground as he paved a way through the dust that covered the floor. He reached up with a hand and ran it distractedly through his hair and in that moment it would have been clear to anyone that he was James' son. He didn't acknowledge my presence until I closed the door behind me with a snap.

"When did you get here?" he asked bluntly, once he was done staring at me with a slightly vacant expression.

"Did you not hear the old hag screeching at the top of her lungs?" I returned, ignoring his tone for the moment. He shook his head and sat down on an old chest. "Huh; then I might have to come up here more often," I muttered, more to myself than to him as I took a seat beside him on an overturned waste bin.

We were silent for a few minutes, him glaring at the floor again and me just sitting. But patience wasn't exactly my strong suit.

"Care to explain why—?"

"I don't know what Kailey's problem is," he snapped, not looking at me.

"Alright," I said evenly. "But I was going to ask why you're sitting up here and sulking; your mum thinks it's something she did, by the way."

"What would mum have possibly done?" he asked quietly after a few moments of embarrassed silence on his part.

"Search me, all I heard was she had tried to talk to you and you ended up in here," I shrugged, frowning at him.

"I didn't even know she tried," he admitted, shaking his head.

"You might consider coming downstairs just to apologize to her, then," I suggested lightly. "And maybe to Kailey as well, she doesn't seem to be quite on your side at the moment. I guess she's not quite feeling the holiday spirit, eh?"

"She's angry with me," he mumbled.

"I gathered that for myself; she nearly took me out on the staircase."

"Yeah, well, it was your girl advice," he accused, moving his glare from the floor to my face.

"You're up here sulking over girl problems?"

"No," he snapped, looking away again. "That's only part of it," he added when I snorted in disbelief. "Sirius, all I want is to be normal," he admitted softly, hanging his head with his hands clenched together in fists.

_You are normal, but normal things don't happen to you…but you won't see it that way, will you…?_

I sighed and leaned forward, reaching out with a hand to grasp his shoulder. He looked up at me, eyes guarded against a lie I wasn't going to tell.

"I know," I said softly. "I know."

**And thus ends this little three-shot series! I hope you enjoyed it! Happy New Year!**

**:-D **


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